I write short stories, personal experiences, essays, and poems. The first three are so intertwined that I seldom know the difference. One time I wrote an essay for a magazine and it wound up in their Annual Fiction Review issue.
I deliberately left off How do I come with ideas for good stories? Reason: my "muse" works slightly different. Sometimes I'll get an idea, but most times I come up with an image, or incident that took place in my life. I jot down about 100 or 200 words in sequence on the event based on the observation and when I'm through I say to myself. Okay, now where's the story?
The significant part of doing it this way is that if an image or experience stuck with me for so long I just know there's a story in it. That is the key for drumming up most stories.
Then I ask myself, "Now why did I, she, he, it, they, behave that way? The story may come based on a direct answer or it may come obliquely having nothing to do with the incident. The story can also be totally made up outside of the incident. To me, the image/incident is the thing.
So how do you come up with a good story? If you never tried it this way, please add it to your muses repertoire. I can almost guarantee your output will increase.
I deliberately left off How do I come with ideas for good stories? Reason: my "muse" works slightly different. Sometimes I'll get an idea, but most times I come up with an image, or incident that took place in my life. I jot down about 100 or 200 words in sequence on the event based on the observation and when I'm through I say to myself. Okay, now where's the story?
The significant part of doing it this way is that if an image or experience stuck with me for so long I just know there's a story in it. That is the key for drumming up most stories.
Then I ask myself, "Now why did I, she, he, it, they, behave that way? The story may come based on a direct answer or it may come obliquely having nothing to do with the incident. The story can also be totally made up outside of the incident. To me, the image/incident is the thing.
So how do you come up with a good story? If you never tried it this way, please add it to your muses repertoire. I can almost guarantee your output will increase.
